WSYT-DT3

WSYT-DT3, virtual channel 43 (UHF digital channel 14.3), is a MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station licensed to Syracuse, New York, United States, which formerly held the call letters WNYS-TV as a separately-licensed full-power station. WSYT-DT3 is owned by Atlanta-based Cox Media Group, and operates as a third digital subchannel of Fox affiliate WSYT (channel 68), which began to host it as of January 14, 2020 ahead of the surrender of WNYS-TV's license as a condition of the acquisition of Northwest Broadcasting by Apollo Global Management in 2019.[4] WSYT-DT3 continues to utilize the separate branding of My 43 from when it was a separate full-power station, along with its channel 43 designation.

WSYT-DT3
Syracuse, New York
United States
ChannelsDigital: 14.3 (UHF)
Virtual: 43 (PSIP)
BrandingMy43 (using former WNYS-TV channel number)
Programming
Affiliations43.1: MyNetworkTV
43.2: Dabl
Ownership
OwnerCox Media Group[1][2]
(Bristlecone Broadcasting LLC)
WICZ-TV, WBPN-LP
History
FoundedSeptember 9, 1987 (1987-09-09)
(as separately-licensed station)
First air date
October 26, 1989 (1989-10-26)
(as separately-licensed station)
January 14, 2020 (2020-01-14)
(as WSYT subchannel)
Last air date
January 14, 2020 (2020-01-14)
(as separately-licensed station)
Former call signs
WSNR-TV (1989–1994)
WNYS-TV (1994–2020)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:
  • 43 (UHF, 1989–2009)
  • Digital:
  • 44 (UHF, 2004–2020)
  • (as separately-licensed station)
Call sign meaning
We're New York Syracuse
(as separately-licensed station)
Technical information
Facility ID40758
ClassDT
ERP540 kW
HAAT442.6 m (1,452 ft)
Transmitter coordinates42°52′50.2″N 76°11′58.7″W
Translator(s)16 WNYS-CD Ithaca[3]
Links
Websitewww.foxsyracuse.com/my43

WSYT-DT3's parent station maintains studios on James Street/NY 290 in Syracuse's Near Northeast section; its transmitter is located near Maple Grove, a hamlet of Otisco, New York.

History

As an independent station

The station began broadcasting in October 1989 as an independent with the call sign WSNR-TV. Its call letters were changed in 1994 to WNYS-TV. This had been previously used on what is now ABC affiliate WSYR-TV (channel 9) from 1962 until 1978.

UPN affiliation; transition to the WB

On January 16, 1995, WNYS-TV became a charter affiliate of UPN. In that same year, Max Media Properties (then owner of WSYT) entered into an LMA with WNYS-TV and began operating the station out of that outlet's facility. It switched to The WB in January 2001 after which UPN was picked up ten months later on October 20 by low-powered WAWA-LP (now WSTQ-LP). That station, however, would not be available on Time Warner Cable in Syracuse until July 2003, as cable companies are not obligated to carry low-power stations under Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations. As a result, between June 2001 and July 2003, Boston superstation WSBK-TV served as the UPN affiliate for Syracuse Time Warner Cable subscribers.

MyNetworkTV affiliation

On September 5, 2006, WNYS-TV affiliated with its third network in the last twelve years becoming a MyNetworkTV affiliate. Along with other Sinclair stations in New York State, WNYS-TV and WSYT have been transmitting digital-only signals since February 17, 2009. Sinclair announced the sale of WSYT, the LMA for WNYS-TV, and WYZZ-TV in PeoriaBloomington, Illinois to Cunningham Broadcasting on February 28, 2013 following its acquisition of Barrington Broadcasting. The sale was necessary due to the FCC's ownership rules as Sinclair chose to keep Barrington's WSTM-TV (channel 3) in Syracuse.[5]

However, in an updated filing with the FCC, it was revealed that WSYT would instead be sold to Bristlecone Broadcasting, a company owned by Brian Brady (owner of Northwest Broadcasting) whose only other assets in New York State are WICZ-TV and WBPN-LP in Binghamton.[6] Those transactions were completed on November 25.[7]

Following the consummation of the sale, Sinclair continued to operate WSYT and WNYS-TV through a transitional service agreement for six months until May 2014. Sinclair will continue to own the station's studios on James Street and its transmitter site in Otisco for at least ten years. WNYS-TV previously maintained its own website but as a result of the sale to Bristlecone, this was abandoned in favor of a shared website with WSYT. In late-January 2015, its second digital subchannel began carrying GetTV, a Sony Pictures Entertainment-owned digital off-air broadcast channel providing mostly classic films from the Sony library.

Bristlecone Broadcasting was incorporated into the Northwest Broadcasting corporate structure in a May 2015 restructuring of Brian Brady's broadcast holdings.[8][9] On November 20, 2015,[10] the WNYS-TV license was sold by RKM Media to Syracuse Broadcasting.[11] The sale originated in 2005 as an attempt by Sinclair to buy WNYS outright for $3.1 million; the rights to acquire the station were transferred to Bristlecone as part of its purchase of WSYT, and were in turn sold to Syracuse Broadcasting for $250,000 on August 10, 2015.[11] On October 1, 2018, Northwest acquired WNYS outright for $100,000.[12] The sale was completed on December 6.[13]

Surrender of license; move to WSYT's spectrum

As part of Apollo Global Management's purchase of Northwest, the company would have had to sell one of their two television stations in the market or shut one of them down, as a federal appeals court ruled that Apollo could not own both stations. After the sale was completed, it was decided to migrate the intellectual unit and programming of WNYS-TV to a digital subchannel of WSYT.[14][4] WNYS-TV's license was then surrendered on January 21, 2020.[15]

Digital television

Digital channels

As mentioned above, the station shares WSYT's bandwidth and is officially recognized as a WSYT subchannel (if going by actual physical channel without PSIP intervention, channel 43's two channels are 14.5 and 14.6), but retains its own multiplexed channel map as channel 43:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[16]
43.1720p16:9MY43Main WSYT-DT3 programming / MyNetworkTV
43.2480i4:3DablDabl

Analog-to-digital conversion

WNYS-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 43, on February 17, 2009, the original target date in which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 44.[17] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 43.

References

  1. "Apollo Global Management Acquires Cox's Television Stations Plus Radio & Newspapers In Dayton". RadioInsight. February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  2. Jessell, Harry A. (March 6, 2019). "Cox TV Valued At $3.1 Billion In Apollo Acquisition". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheckMedia LLC. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  3. "Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  4. "Description of Transaction". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved January 14, 2020. Prior to the consummation of the Reorganization, the company will surrender the license of WNYS-TV, Syracuse, NY (facility identification number 58725), which is currently held by Syracuse Broadcasting, Inc. Syracuse Broadcasting, Inc. will not hold any FCC licenses after the license for WNYS-TV is surrendered.
  5. Malone, Michael (February 28, 2013). "Sinclair's Chesapeake TV Acquires Barrington Stations". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  6. Application For Consent To Assignment Of Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License Federal Communications Commission, 9 August 2013
  7. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Application for Consent to Assign Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License or to Transfer Control of Entity Holding Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. May 14, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  9. "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. May 29, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  10. "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. November 27, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  11. "Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. October 14, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  12. "Application for Consent to Transfer Control of Entity Holding Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. October 1, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  13. "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. December 10, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  14. https://www.fybush.com/nerw-20191125/
  15. Station Search Details, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, 21 January 2020, Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  16. RabbitEars TV Query for WNYS
  17. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
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